Yost v. State

31 N.W.2d 538, 149 Neb. 584, 1948 Neb. LEXIS 53
CourtNebraska Supreme Court
DecidedApril 1, 1948
DocketNo. 32356
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 31 N.W.2d 538 (Yost v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Nebraska Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Yost v. State, 31 N.W.2d 538, 149 Neb. 584, 1948 Neb. LEXIS 53 (Neb. 1948).

Opinion

Wenke, J.

Harvey Yost, plaintiff in error and defendant below, was charged in the district court for Hall County with two crimes: The first, that of obtaining $2,100 from Helen Hofrichter by false pretenses, and the second, that of converting to his own use $2,100 belonging to Helen Hofrichter, which he was holding for her as bailee. A jury found the defendant guilty of converting to his own use the $2,100 which he held as bailee for Helen Hofrichter. His motion for new trial having been overruled, the court sentenced him to serve a period of seven years in the Nebraska penitentiary. By this error proceeding the defendant seeks reversal of his conviction and sentence. For convenience we shall refer to the petitioner in error as the defendant.

The incident here involved grew out of an acquaintance that developed between the complaining witness Helen O. Hofrichter, a married woman, and defendant Harvey Yost when the former was taken to the county hospital of Douglas County on September 20, 1946, because of a sudden attack of poliomyelitis. At that time defendant was working in the hospital as an orderly.

[586]*586Bearing in mind the principle that in a criminal action the State is required to prove all of the essential elements of the offense charged beyond any' reasonable doubt, we find, from the evidence adduced at the trial, that after the complaining witness left the hospital on October 27, 1946, and went to the Hill Hotel in Omaha to stay, the jury could liave found the following happened.

It should here be stated that any facts relating to their associations during this period, except .as it relates "itself to the crime of which the defendant has been convicted, will not be set out as it would serve no useful purpose.

When the complaining witness left the hospital' and went to the hotel the defendant immediately quit his job at the hospital and became her companion. He continued in that relation until he deserted her at a tourist court located at North Platte, Nebraska, in the late afternoon ór early evening of November 4, 1946. After she got out of the hospital they stayed at the Hill Hotel for several days. There they caused a disturbance in her room early on the morning of Wednesday, October 30, 1946, when he abused her physically. At that time she received a severe laceration on her heád". As a result of this disturbance they were taken into custody by the police. They arranged for their release without any apparent publicity. Then they moved to the Hotel Chieftan in Council' Bluffs, Iowa. On October 31, 1946, they went to the Omaha National Bank in Omaha and she withdrew $1,700 of her funds on deposit in the Commercial National Bank of Grand Island, Nebraska, by means of a customer’s draft. This money she turned over to the defendant and he used $1,600 thereof to buy a 1941 Buick automobile, being the means they subsequently used to travel. She withdrew an additional $200 of her funds on deposit at the Commercial National Bank of Grand Island on November 2, 1946, in the same manner. Because of her health she desired to return to the hospital but he advised her against it saying he could [587]*587do everything for her that they could and did not take her there. She then desired to go home but he told her if she did he would scandalize her by publicizing the trouble she had been in. He told her he was going to take her to Phoenix, Arizona, to her sister’s where she could stay to improve her health. He then took her to Grand Island for the purpose of having her draw out the balance of the money she had on deposit in the Commercial National Bank as funds with which to go on that trip. They drove to Grand Island on November 4, 1946, and both went to the bank. He directed her to get cash and waited in the lobby of the bank for her to do so. She then had on deposit a balance of $2,105.08. However, the banker advised her not to take cash but induced her to take a draft for $1,599.73 and travelers’ checks totaling $500. These she turned over to the defendant before they left the bank. He became angry because she had not obtained cash. As they were leaving Grand Island they stopped at a filling station at which time he took from her $200 which she had in her purse. They then drove to Kearney, Nebraska. There they cashed the draft and travelers’ checks. They both went to the Platte Valley Bank in Kearney and, after they had entered the lobby, he handed her the draft so she could endorse and cash it. When it was cashed he immediately took the proceeds and never returned any part thereof to her. They also went to the Fort Kearney National Bank in Kearney where they cashed the travelers’ checks. The same procedure was followéd. He handed her the travelers’ checks after they had entered the bank so she could endorse and cash them. After she had cashed them he immediately took over the proceeds, none of which he has ever returned to her. They then drove to Cozad, Nebraska, where he bought $500 of travelers’ checks, taking the same in his own name. They then proceeded to North Platte, where he registered at a tourist court. She, because of her condition, being weak and exhausted, laid down to rest. This was [588]*588about 4 to 4:30 p. m. She awakened between 10 and 10:30 p. m. of the same day, November 4, 1946, and defendant was gone. She contacted the police. Her condition at the time showed evidence of physical violence, having a laceration on her head and bruises on her body. She was weak, fatigued, seemed under a strain, had a faulty memory, was in a run-down condition, and had four or five prick marks on the upper part of her right arm. At all times she seemed to be under the complete domination and influence of the defendant. After the defendant left North Platte he went to Kansas City to get some clothes. He then went on to California, taking the Buick car which had been purchased in Omaha with him and using it as a means of conveyance. No part of the money he obtained from the draft and travelers’ checks, which were turned over to him at Grand Island, has ever been returned to the complaining witness. The defendant took it with him when he deserted the complaining witness at North Platte.

It is true that defendant tells a somewhat different story and offered in evidence a letter written and signed by complaining witness at North Platte on November 4, 1946, to the effect that she gave him everything as a gift and exonerated him for his conduct. Of course, the weight of this evidence, under the circumstances, was for the jury and from the record as a whole it is readily understandable why they would give it little, if any, consideration.

Defendant complains because the court failed to sustain his motion to dismiss count one because of the lack of any evidence to support it. He contends that submitting it resulted in prejudice to his rights. Without discussing the question of fact, as relating to the lack of evidence, we think what was said in Morrow v. State, 146 Neb. 601, 20 N. W. 2d 602, under a similar situation, is applicable here. There we said: “The second assignment is that the court erred in refusing to sustain defendant’s motion to dismiss count two of the informa[589]*589tion. Whether or not the court was in error is of no consequence since the jury found the defendant not guilty on this count.”

Defendant complains on the ground that the evidence fails to establish all the essential elements of the crime charged. It is, of course, true that the State has that burden. Hans v. State, 147 Neb. 730, 25 N. W. 2d 35.

As to the crime of which the defendant here stands convicted, section 28-540, R. S.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
31 N.W.2d 538, 149 Neb. 584, 1948 Neb. LEXIS 53, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/yost-v-state-neb-1948.